Saturday, June 08, 2013

Herbs, sleeping and moderation

Over the last few years I have developed this herb bed which this year seems to be in good shape. For a moment today I take stock of the plants. To my surprise, the list is long. In no particular order: St John's wort, sorrel, chives, wormwood, thyme (two varieties), tarragon, feverfew, winter savory, fennel, bronze fennel, sweet cicely, lemon balm, mint (two or three varieties) and two other herbs whose names I have forgotten. And two which I have added since taking the photograph yesterday, cotton lavender and rue. Growing out of the wall at the back of the bed and self sown, is a fine euphorbia. A couple of rose bushes add colour.

In The Grove a man lies on his side asleep in the sun. Beside him is a dozing Jack Russell.

The new austerity. In Saturday's Financial Times, the regular weekend lunch guest is Stephen Hester, chief executive of The Royal Bank of Scotland. The feature is called Lunch with The Financial Times and the restaurant bill is always included in a panel set into the text. Drinks on this occasion are listed as: mint tea, bottle of Badoit (x2) and glass of Champagne x 2, complementary. As one of the great body of British taxpayers who own the bank I can only sigh with relief at these signs of moderation.

2 comments:

It never ceases to amaze me that after many trials with this and that, plans made this way and that, suddenly when one's time must be channelled elsewhere, the beds suddenly come right of themselves. (Glad I'm not a UK taxpayer. Alright we don't get a national vote in the UK or in France, we're taxed with no representation, but we're not going to get anything more democratic.)

About Me

Compasses

Following their Handbook for Explorers collaboration on the Compasses site (link below), Lucy Kempton and I are working together on a new venture, Questions. This is a series of poems submitted by each of us alternately, and prompted in the case of each poem by the previous poem and a new question. It is a process of adventure and discovery. Join us for the ride.http://www.compasses-lucyandjoe.blogspot.com/